Taylor Hawkins has made a short film document Joseph Allen Freeman shooting, developing, and contact printing 8×10 photographs. It’s a little gem of a movie, and Freeman brings a fresh, unexpected veracity to it. His profanity-laced commentary on the wonders of large format landscape photography and the uniqueness of a contact print are inspiring.
I’ve also walked over rocky trails with a tripod and camera over my shoulder, but it was always a Crown Graphic 4×5, never a monster like Freeman has. My aluminum Manfrotto tripod is also a lot lighter (and less immune to the wind) than his.
If you’ve never trekked into the wild with a camera that’s a little too big and fussed around with the meter and the movements and the cable release and stood and waited for the right light, I suggest you do just that. Because even when you screw it up, it’s still rewarding.
Hat tip to fstoppers.com!
David Shoots Film 